SHILLONG, May 16: Girdled with allegations that very few Meghalaya-based farmers have benefitted out of the recently announced 8th instalment under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme, Agriculture Minister, Banteidor Lyngdoh, has said that farmers will continue to avail the benefits since it is an ongoing scheme.
The agriculture minister on Sunday said that 1.80 lakh farmers in Meghalaya have already benefitted from the PM-KISAN scheme ever since its launch in 2018.
He informed that the 8,967 farmers from Meghalaya, who have figured in the list of the beneficiaries, are those who got selected for the 8th instalment under the PM-KISAN scheme. “All these farmers who got selected recently are those who have managed to submit all the relevant documents. Many more farmers are going to benefit out of this since it is an ongoing scheme,” the agriculture minister assured.
Falsifying the allegations, Banteidor said that farmers are getting Rs 2,000 every quarter under the PM-KISAN scheme, which gets credited directly to their bank accounts.
Earlier, BJP MDC, Bernard Marak, has alleged that the Meghalaya-based beneficiaries of PM-KISAN scheme are yet to avail the benefits.
Casting aspersions on the implementing agencies in state, Marak also rued that the beneficiaries from Meghalaya are receiving false SMS alerts, which is begetting confusion among them.
Alleging that the benefits of the PM-KISAN scheme have not reached the beneficiaries, Marak said, “Farmers are getting SMS alerts but the money has not been credited to the beneficiaries’ account. This is creating confusion and people are unsure if the amounts have really been released or the messages they received are fake SMSs.”
Asking the implementing agencies in Meghalaya to ensure there is timely receipt of central schemes and the needy beneficiaries are not deprived of the government benefits, Marak said that similar allegations have been levelled by the beneficiaries of other centrally sponsored schemes like Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), Individual Household Latrine (IHHL), et al, where they, despite getting notified, did not receive the benefits.
The BJP MDC had also said that the implementing agencies should abstain from creating such confusion as it is depriving the beneficiaries of their rights. “BJP will ensure that the schemes reach the beneficiaries in spite of irregularities,” Marak added.
The FKJGP Agriculture and the Khasi-Jaintia Fresh Vegetables Suppliers’ Association (KJFVSA) had also raised questions as to why very few farmers have benefitted from the PM-KISAN scheme.
FKJGP Agriculture Cell secretary, Bristar Mawthoh, had said that it is surprising as to how only 8,967 farmers from Meghalaya have benefitted out of the recently announced central benefits. “This figure is too low, taking into account that 80 per cent of the state population is engaging in farming activities. Even in a small state like Tripura, there are a total number of 20,000 farmers who have benefitted,” Mawthoh said.
KJFVSA adviser, on the other hand, said, “The state government should create awareness about this scheme since there are possibilities that farmers in the state are not aware about this. The government should set up the information centre in all the blocks to inform the farmers about the various schemes initiated by the Centre”.
Hill Farmers’ Union (HFU) president, Commander Shangpliang, had said that there should have been more farmers to benefit out of the scheme.
Informing that the farmers need to have their own land to avail benefits of this scheme, he bemoaned that majority of the farmers in Meghalaya are conducting farming activities by taking land on lease.
“Many of the farmers are also afraid to register their land for availing this scheme. The state government should pursue this matter with the Centre and ask the latter to insert a clause where the farmers, who do not own a land, can also get benefits out of this scheme. We are surprised that only 8,000-plus farmers got the benefit when around two lakh farmers had registered with the government to avail this scheme,” Shangpliang said.
Meanwhile, Congress MLA, HM Shangpliang, also questioned as to why did the state government sent the names of only 8,967 farmers to the Centre.
In a statement issued here, he expressed surprise that despite the fact that 85 percent of Meghalaya’s population is engaged in farming, the state government had submitted a proposal for a total outlay of only Rs 1.80 crore under the PM-KISAN scheme.
